"When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it." -Unknown

Chapter 3- A New Start

Naruto slapped his hand down on his alarm clock as he blearily rubbed his eyes. He sighed and stretched before standing and heading towards his bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his face before yawning loudly and leaving the bathroom. He grabbed his new clothes from his nightstand, where he had put them when he dressed for bed, he had 4 more sets in his closet. He smiled as he pulled on his dark grey shirt and pants. He tied his orange sash on around his waist and grabbed the leaf from yesterday before heading to his kitchen.

He opened his cabinets and stared for a few moments before remembering that he had never picked up his allowance from the Hokage Tower yesterday in his team not picking up a mission and his excitement in meeting back up with Kurenai. He frowned as he realized he hadn't eaten yesterday and would have to go hungry for today too until he could pick his pay up for the D-rank mission plus his allowance. He closed his cabinet with a sigh and headed to his door as his stomach growled. It was a miracle it had never growled yesterday when he had been around others.

As Naruto pulled his shoes on, he thought about going hungry then realized that Kakashi was always late 3 hours. He would have plenty of time to pick his money up and grab some Ichiraku Ramen before his sensei would appear at the bridge! With this in mind, Naruto smiled before leaving his apartment and heading to the Hokage Tower.


Naruto walked through the red light district, smiling at the few women around who smiled coyly at him and waved happily. He didn't know the meaning behind those smiles but he smiled back and waved as well, just happy someone would acknowledge him. They had been doing this since he was ten and he doubted they would ever stop, for some reason he didn't want them to. It felt good for them to smile like that at him. It caused a feeling deep in his chest to move as they continued to show their affection by acknowledging him.

He didn't know what this feeling was, it seemed similar to what he felt when he thought of Sakura but, with Sakura, that was more of a... physical? feeling. Like his body wanted him to go after Sakura, but his mind and heart set him towards these women almost Kurenai's age. He blushed as he remembered what Takeshi had said yesterday about dating Kurenai. She was definitely beautiful and stirred feelings inside him that even Sakura didn't. These women who smiled coyly at him stirred it somewhat but he didn't know them too well and Kurenai had made an active point to get to know a little about him even over the course of only two days.

Even though he had no idea what these feelings were, he followed them and that was what had led to him pursuing Sakura. Of course, the fact he would be 'stealing' her away from Sasuke, who had everything he wanted but threw it away, would just make it all the better when he would have the lovely Sakura-chan all to himself. He smiled as he thought of beating Sasuke at his own game but then frowned as he thought of Sakura. He wondered why Kurenai would hold more... appeal? than Sakura. His body had reacted oddly to her body at the waterfall and he still didn't know why that was.

He couldn't like Kurenai more than Sakura could he? He stopped walking just before reaching the market district and shook his head. No Way! Kurenai was beautiful, smart and strong but she wasn't as cute as Sakura. Nodding his head in agreement, he continued walking again entering the market district and becoming the focus of glares as he left his homedistrict.

Naruto noticed that he was actually being glared at less. When he looked around, he noticed that most of the people did not recognize him without his trademark bright orange. He pouted in his head as he realized that his favorite color had drawn their stares. However, he was happy with his new clothes and the added bonus of less glares was definitely worth losing the majority of his favorite color. He did still have his sash to represent the awesomeness that is orange. He smiled brightly as he continued heading to the Hokage tower.


Naruto walked up to the Hokage Tower and smiled up at the huge symbol of the Land of Fire. His eyes twinkled as he looked at the Kanji for 'Fire' standing at the top of the tower where his Jiji worked. His smile diminished as he thought of the old man who had been a constant within his life and helped him on more than one occasion. He thought of all those times when he had woken in the Hospital after his yearly beating. No, it wasn't much in terms of physical beatings, but it was still depressing, emotionally, to be beaten on your birthday of all days of the year. He had taken the old man at his word and believed that he didn't know why they hurt him or why they glared at him.

He had believed the old man explicitly and trusted him just as much. Upon hearing of his burden, subsequently learning that his 'Jiji' had lied to him, he couldn't stop the thoughts that now whirled in his head about what else he might know about him that he was lying about. His parents? Did they leave him upon learning he had the demon sealed inside him? Did they die trying to kill him when he was younger? Despite the ANBU doing their job, he knew that people had tried to kill him before, the KI they exuded was more than enough for him to sense them when he got older. Or, Did they love him but die during the Kyuubi's attack? Did they die trying to protect him from the village when he was younger? So many questions that he feared to ask of the Old Man.

His normal personality was actually pretty close to his usual attitude, Naruto was a very hyperactive and exuberant child, however he also had a dark side that no one saw. It didn't manifest in brief spouts of insanity, it didn't try to control him or speak in his head like he had heard of for others. No, this dark side simply took revenge on the populous by pranking for him or thinking these dark thoughts and keeping it from his happy persona so that the Old man or the precious few people he had trusted wouldn't be worried about him. Now, he wasn't pranking anymore and his previous trusted people had not seen him in weeks so his other side stopped keeping the ideas to himself and shared them with the happy child. Naruto was slowly losing the innocence that his dark side had kept intact.

As a result of this, Naruto's eyes turned steely as he looked at the Hokage Tower, he wanted to get stronger to protect himself. Not the village, he just wanted to protect himself and anyone he liked, and he would become strong to do so. But he knew that he needed to study more and read more to learn because his teacher wouldn't help him, Kurenai and Takeshi couldn't, and he didn't want to trust the Old Man again just yet. His prankster side immediately began planning on how to gain the materials he would need to train.

As this happened, Naruto was standing in a single spot for more than five minutes, a bad thing for him, as it would allow others to notice him even without his orange jumpsuit. A single civilian sneered at him as he looked at Naruto. He walked straight up to him and scowled at the diminutive ninja in front of him. Naruto came back to his senses upon seeing the man standing in front of him. He took a step back and the man smiled eerily.

"Why are you standing around here you brat?" the man said growling out brat with unusual force. "hoping because you are a ninja you can gain your power back?" he said. "Well they will keep you weak, I am glad you are near Uchiha-sama, he will subjugate you." he said.

Naruto smiled at the man and said, "Sasuke-teme will bow before my awesomeness, you just watch old man!" he shouted. Naruto completely missed what the man had been saying.

The man looked at him like he was nuts before turning around and muttering under his breath, "Damn demon just ignoring me, I'll show him later." as he walked away.

Naruto cocked his head to the side as he couldn't understand why the man would just ignore him and leave. He shrugged his shoulders and headed inside the tower. He walked inside the lobby and headed to the receptionist, he completely missed the sneer the assistant gave him before walking up the stairs. He smiled brightly as he approached the receptionist and said, "I am here to pick up my allowance." he never knew the woman's name because she refused to give it to him, even with all the years he had been coming here.

The woman looked up at him and Naruto missed the flash of hatred from her eyes as he smiled brightly, closing his eyes in a squint as he did so. She did not even make any reference to his new clothes. She smiled down at him but it was a sad smile. "I'm Sorry, Uzumaki-san. Because you have not picked up your check on the day that is set, I can not give it to you." His eyes widened as he looked at her, he missed the spark of mischief sitting deep in her black eyes, "Just as I have told you the past 3 years, if you do not pick up your check on the appointed day then it is given to the civilians." she said sorrowfully.

Naruto's head hung as he looked at her, "What do you mean -ttebayo? you never told me that!" he shouted at her his normal dattebayo making a reappearance from his high strung tension of not having money to eat this week. He had missed his check before but he had never been denied it... he thinks.

The woman glared down at him, "Keep your voice down Uzumaki-san. I have indeed told you this before. I will not have you disturbing our work, please leave." she said.

Naruto's eyes squinted at her as he stared at her before he sighed dejectedly and hung his head, "Hai." he said before turning and leaving the tower as he knew that if he made too much noise the ANBU would remove him.


Naruto sighed as he exited the tower and looked up at the ledge that led to his Jiji's office. He could climb up there and ask for lunch from the Old Man but he didn't want to talk with him just yet, his fear of what might be said keeping him from doing as he wished. His parents had always been a sore subject with him and he didn't think he could take it if the Old Man lied again.

His stomach growled again and he looked down at his sunken stomach with a glare. "Be Quiet." he said before putting his hands into his pockets and heading off to his team's bridge, still two and a half hours before his sensei should get there.


As he approached the bridge, he saw his two teammates sitting in their usual positions. That is, Sakura was sitting next to Sasuke trying to talk him into a date as he ignored her with turning his head away from her and closing his eyes as he feigned sleeping to anyone who could see his face.

Naruto was about to announce his presence when he remembered his chakra control exercise. Again, he did not say anything as he sat on the opposite side of the bridge and began working on the same chakra control exercise as before. For close to an hour, he sat there trying to complete the same exercise. He saw a decent improvement the first few times he attempted to move the leaf as it would stick for half a second before the leaf burst from his head as he finished releasing it from its initial position. Again, he continued getting frustrated with the exercise until he felt his control start to slip. He sighed and put the leaf away, deciding to try it again later.

He looked up and noticed that his teammates still had not acknowledged him. He looked down, it hurt to know his teammates wouldn't even notice him sitting here for a whole hour. Granted he was usually louder, he shouldn't have to draw their attention for them to at least greet him should he? He scratched his head in confusion. The Old Man always talked about how teams would be like little families, that was why he was so happy about his team initially.

Sakura was his love and he would have been happy having her on any team with him so he could show her how awesome he was. Sasuke was a mixture of feelings. He enjoyed having someone who felt as alone as he did. However, Sasuke was such a stuck up prick that he ignored Naruto's attempts to have a rival within him. Even if he didn't realize he was ignoring him until they became teammates, it hurt to know Sasuke brushed him off so easily.

Kakashi-sensei was perhaps the worst. For some reason, he felt he knew Kakashi. He felt... familar to Naruto. Like he should recognize him even though he said precious little about his own self. Because of this, he had felt happy to have him as a sensei. However, it had turned into another disappointment within his life. He refused to teach them anything until he deemed them worthy of it and, despite Naruto's urgings, had remained adamant in that.

He didn't feel it was fair, like much in his life. Sasuke had a whole clan library he could use to gain knowledge and power. Even Sakura could go to the public library, somewhere he was denied because of his tenant, and gain the knowledge she needed to keep herself in shape until Kakashi decided to train them. Unfortunately, Naruto could do nothing to make Kakashi train him. As dense as others may claim him, he was not stupid enough to think Sasuke and Sakura were as stalled in their pursuit of knowledge as he. So, he was stuck.

He was quickly beginning to contemplate going to the Old Man again, despite his fears. He was brought out of his musings as Sakura finally said something, "Naruto?" she asked. Naruto raised his head to look at his teammates and noticed that both of them were staring at him with odd expressions.

He smiled at them, happy they had finally acknowledged him, "Ohayo, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme." he said.

Sasuke merely grunted at him as he cast a look at his new clothes. Sakura, couldn't answer as her eyes feasted on Naruto's new clothes and lack of orange. It actually looked as good as Sasuke's. Naruto cocked his head and looked at Sakura with a question on his face. He opened his mouth to ask a question when Sakura's face twisted into a visage of rage, "Are you trying to draw me away from Sasuke-kun?" she asked accusingly, Naruto's jaw dropped. Sasuke looked over at her with surprise flitting across his face. "It won't work! No matter what you do, Sasuke-kun is so much better than you. Right Sasuke-kun?" she asked as she looked back at Sasuke.

Sasuke grunted as if it was obvious that it was true. Then he turned back to feigning sleep. Sakura sighed wistfully before casting one more scathing glance at Naruto and then turning back to Sasuke with stars in her eyes and beginning another rant to get him to take her out.

Naruto's hands clenched into fists as he shook. A few tears escaped his eyes as a huge wave of sorrow passed through him. Without his dark side to soften the meaning behind their actions, Naruto's innocent side finally realized how horrible his teammates were as teammates. "Why?" he asked himself. "Why me? Why must I have to endure such hatred and ignorance?" he asked sadly before rubbing his cheeks and standing. He turned and began marching towards the forests of Konoha.

Sasuke opened his eyes as he felt Naruto moving away. His normally composed expression completely dropping as he saw Naruto's eyes shining with unshed tears as he walked away. Shock and sorrow running through his body as he looked at Naruto. Despite him being the dobe, he knew that Naruto and he shared a bond deeper than anyone could comprehend unless they experienced loneliness the likes of which they had. As soon as he saw Naruto begin walking away, he stood completely and looked at him with hardened eyes. His Uchiha pride standing forth as he looked at him. "You better not leave Dobe, We need to take a mission today, you were already late today." he said in hopes of keeping Naruto here.

Naruto didn't even respond as he continued walking towards the forests. Sakura stood and ran over to him, "Naruto-baka, come back here! Sasuke-kun told you not to leave." she yelled as she pulled her fist back and let go, pounding his head into the pavement as she had done so many times before to get what she wanted. Naruto didn't make any noise other than standing and stumbling almost drunkenly away from his teammates. "Baka!" Sakura yelled at him as he disappeared into the foliage, "We can't take a mission without you!"

Sasuke scowled and realized he had said the wrong thing especially with Sakura around. He didn't understand what he had done to hurt Naruto so badly to leave, he had always been such a dense person that he never needed to explain his actions as Naruto took it to be part of their rivalry. Even if Sasuke didn't show it, he did respect Naruto and, as a result, honored their rivalry.

Sasuke turned to leave as they couldn't do missions without Naruto. Kakashi shunshined onto the bridge and looked down at them, "Sorry I'm late." he said. Sakura turned to yell at him but Sasuke glared at his sensei and beat her to it.

"I don't care about your stupid excuses. The dobe isn't here so we can't do missions. Because you want us to only work on Teamwork exercises, today has been ruined. Good Bye." he said before turning and leaving the bridge.

Kakashi looked on silently as Sakura bowed to him before running off, though he could tell the gesture wasn't meant to be of respect. As his students disappeared from his view he sighed before looking off in the direction Naruto had walked, "What am I going to do?" he asked to the silent bridge. "If Naruto no longer tries to keep the team together what little teamwork their have will fall apart in no time. Sakura constantly berates him for the simplest things, sometimes even for something that she should praise him on. She hits him whenever possible and just plain ignores him." Kakashi mused, "Sasuke is just as bad. Though I can tell he holds a grudging respect for Naruto's in-fight capabilities, he ignores him outside of that and plays his rivalry off as nothing important when it is actually completely opposite. I know Naruto isn't as happy and as dense as he acts but I had always figured he would remain so around his teammates long enough to change them as he seems to do to anyone who makes a connection with him. If Naruto continues acting this way, my plan to have him unite the team will be ruined and I can't think of another way for it to happen." he shook his head and shunshined away, trying to figure out how to salvage his team.


Naruto stumbled through the forest as his eyes shined with tears. He stumbled through the brush and fell to the ground as he curled into a ball and let loose tears he had kept inside him for thirteen years. All of the pain and igorance he had suffered at the hands of the villagers came crashing down on his young shoulders. He cried his eyes out as his shoulders shook from the sobs coming from his weak frame. For close to an hour, Naruto stayed on the ground crying wishing he could just leave the village behind and ignore them like they did to him.

Once his sobs started to subside, he slowly sat up, his blonde hair full of twigs and dirt from his convulsions on the ground. His stomach growled but he ignored it as he thought of what had happened, "I always thought we were a team. I thought we were comrades and would become close but they just ignore me." he scowled for the first time in his life, "Those teamwork exercises do nothing but make Sakura and Sasuke become angry at me." he thought as his anger grew, "Kakashi-sensei does nothing to stop them either!" he remembered quite vividly that Kakashi would not step in and do anything beyond just adding a egg from yesterday.

Even before, if Sasuke and Sakura combined against him, then Kakashi wouldn't step in until after Sakura had hit him. He frowned again thinking of how much Sakura hit him. His previous feelings having been crushed by their actions, he finally saw how she beat him as much as possible. Sasuke was apathetic at best and he felt that familar pang of loneliness run through him as he remembered how Sasuke had brushed him off so easily.

His normal ocean blue eyes seemed to turn to ice as he thought of his team. He scowled for the second time in his life as that thought crossed his mind. He would have to ask his Jiji to change the teams if he could not convince Kakashi to change something. This was getting out of hand and Naruto was now fed up with it. He would no longer take his teammates treating him as if he was a puppy to be kicked around at their whim.

He brushed his hair with his hands, removing the twigs from his blonde locks and took a step forward, his mind set on what he must do when his stomach gave a particularly loud growl. Naruto blushed slightly and looked abashed before hearing someone say something.

"Excuse me, We are using this training ground, I need you to leave so you won't get hurt." the voice said with an unmistakeable tone of authority in it. Naruto walked forward a few feet and came to another training ground. One he wasn't familar with, but he was familar with three of the people standing in the clearing. He smiled brightly, despite the dirt on his face, clothes, and hair, while greeting them, "Ohayo, Ino-chan, Shikamaru, Chouji." he said.

Team ten blinked in surprise as they took in Naruto's new clothes and less than fresh look. The jounin was the first to recover as he looked over Naruto. Naruto's eyes flashed to him and he could see the jounin observing him closely. He almost flinched away but, instead, smiled brightly looking at him, "Hi I'm Uzumaki Naruto who're you?" he asked as he approached the still dumbstruck team ten.

The jounin blinked before smiling slightly at him, "Sarutobi Asuma." he answered as he took a puff from his cigarette.

Naruto took this time to look at the jounin, he was wearing a flak jacket just like Kakashi, blue pants and shoes, with his shins wrapped in tape just as his elbows were. On his shoulders, the swirls that accompanied every Konoha uniform stood proudly. His Hitai-ate was wrapped around his forehead holding back spiky black locks remniscent of Naruto's own hairstyle. The man's hair wrapped around his face in a full beard covering his jawline. A thin trail of smoke drifted upwards from the cigarette laying lazily in his mouth. His light-brown eyes spoke of curiousness and no hint of malice. The oddest part of this jounin, however, was the sash on his waist that had a single Kanji in red for 'Fire.'

Naruto's smile widened slightly as he saw that and turned back to the still confused team ten. At least, two thirds of them seemed confused, to Naruto, Shikamaru seemed... annoyed? Naruto smiled at them despite feeling uncomfortable under Shikamaru's intense stare.

Indeed, Nara Shikamaru was, for perhaps the first time in his life, perplexed. He was used to knowing what was going to happen. His huge IQ allowing him to plan several steps in advance for almost any situation he had come across. He had yet to come across a situation where he could be caught off guard except with his own father. Thus, when Naruto, the class enigma that would always throw his plans asunder, the boy who was ever happy and constantly a beacon for good feelings, appeared in front of him with new clothes, a sombre demeanor, dirt in his hair and on the side of his body, and puffy red eyes that should be shining with mischief. Shikamaru decided that he wanted to talk to Naruto.

He did not find Naruto too troublesome, as he would announce to everyone else. Naruto would be the only one Shikamaru could count on to give him a challenge within any point in time. As such, when he noticed Naruto's out of place characteristics his curiosity, something which had seemingly lain dormant all his life, sprang up and consumed his over intelligent mind with a burning need. He glanced at his teammates and did not want them to be around when he questioned what had upset Naruto so much that he would show this to them. He discreetly signalled Asuma, using a hand language they had developed as the two played shogi, and asked him to please remove Chouji and Ino.

His answer was a shocked look from Asuma until he quickly glanced at Naruto and looked back at Shikamaru before nodding and speaking up. "Chouji, Ino, Let's go. I need to talk to your parents about something so practice is cancelled for today. Pleasure to meet you Naruto-san." he said before grabbing his two students and shunshining away.

Naruto cocked his head to the side in a confused fashion looking at the remaining member of team ten standing in front of him. Shikamaru's gaze intensified as he looked back at Naruto with piercing black eyes. Naruto took this quiet time to study Shikamaru. His black hair was in a pineapple shape upon his head. He had on a mesh shirt with a grey jacket over it. His Hitai-ate was tied around his left arm. His pants were blue as were his normal shinobi sandals. His Kunai pouch must have been somewhere on his back as it wasn't strapped to his leg.

As he was doing this, Shikamaru was going through thousands of scenarios of why Naruto would actually be showing his sadness. He knew that in his academy days, Naruto had been an unusually happy person but Shikamaru could see the small hint in his eyes when someone would put him down or he would be ignored in their classes. The reason behind all of the prejudice had never really intrigued him but this did. He wondered what could have possibly happened when he decided that it must have something to do with his team, or Iruka.

"Is there something wrong Shikamaru?" Naruto asked curiously no hint of hurt feelings hiding in his words as Shikamaru would have expected. Again, Naruto surprised him, or was simply an expert at hiding his feelings. Shikamaru had a feeling it was both.

"I would ask the same of you Naruto." Shikamaru countered trying to get Naruto to drop his 'act.' He was fairly sure Naruto had a serious side. He had caught glimpses of it when he would plan a prank. As frightening as it was, Shikamaru was scared of Naruto in his serious state. Despite not ever seeing it full blown, Shikamaru knew what Naruto did, while serious, was far beyond what anyone his age should be able to do. Painting the Hokage Monument in broad daylight and outrunning full blown ANBU agents as well as a majority of the jounin and chuunin of the village was no small feat and should be impossible for anyone not of the Sandaime's prowess or Shikamaru's intelligence. Even with these, Shikamaru would be wary of attempting such an act and would only do it should he have backup. Naruto did it by himself and managed to get away from everyone except Iruka. Shikamaru felt that was probably on purpose.

Naruto's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly but Shikamaru was no genius for nothing. He caught it as Naruto's grin came to his face. "Eh?" Naruto said as he threw his hands behind his head and grinned at Shikamaru, "Nothing's wrong here." he said as he grinned.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Naruto." he said seriously drawing Naruto's grin off his face at seeing Shikamaru serious for the first time in his life. Something he was curious about. "I may not be your friend but I am curious about why you, who was the picture of happiness and mirth." Shikamaru started as he waved at Naruto's direction, "A person who could laugh off any joke or insult and take it in stride. A person who wore 'Kill me Orange' and still managed to be inconspicuous when you wanted." A smile of pride came to Naruto's face from hearing what he thought were praises. They were but Shikamaru had a point to make, "A person who has never once shown any type of sadness or hurt from ANYTHING ANYONE has said or done to you. Why would you be out in the forest wearing new clothes and ruining them? Why would you be crying? More importantly, Why wouldn't you leave before being found?" Shikamaru questioned as he stared at Naruto.

Naruto's jaw was almost hitting the floor as he looked at Shikamaru. His mind trying to process the fact that Shikamaru had deduced all of this so quickly. He suddenly chuckled darkly and looked at Shikamaru with a dark and haunted look that he reserved for only those villagers who tried to beat him now. It contained none of the malice that he usually had accompanying it but the glare was still enough to make Shikamaru freeze. "How do you know so much about me?" Naruto asked, his eyes not the pool of mirth and mischief that usually occupied that space. No, these eyes held loneliness of a level Shikamaru could not fathom, and he answered almost instantly hoping it would cause Naruto to drop his stare. It made him feel vulnerable.

"I may be lazy but that is just because nothing peaks my curiousity. I am a genius of a supposed IQ above 200. Nothing ever catches my eye enough to make it interesting enough to warrant my interest, until you." he said. It was quite big of his ego to say this but it was no less true. With Shikamaru's mind, most things people considered 'impossible' were some of the simplest things for him.

Naruto's eyes lost the haunted look and returned to their mirthful nature almost as if not ever having been there in the first place. But now, Shikamaru could see that spark of loneliness hiding deep in Naruto's eyes. "Glad I interest you Shikamaru." Naruto said in a happy voice and Shikamaru believed him. Naruto suddenly looked sheepish as he looked down at his feet and muttered so quietly Shikamaru almost missed what he asked. "I don't have many friends Shikamaru. If you wish to know my story, w-would you be my friend?" a slight stutter entering his normally boisterous voice.

Shikamaru almost faceplanted at such a drastic change so quickly. But he was so curious it was unreal and he was not about to let his target get away. So, he smiled a lazy smile and put his hands in his pockets. "Sure Naruto." he said as he smiled at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes almost bugged out of his face but silent tears began to leak from his face as he looked up at Shikamaru and muttered a small, "Arigatou." before sitting on the ground with the largest smile Shikamaru thought he had ever seen. Naruto patted the ground next to him and Shikamaru noticed he was motioning for him to join him. Shikamaru wasted no time in sitting next to his newest friend and current point of curiousity.

Naruto took a shuddering sigh before starting what must be his longest single narrative in his whole life, the summary of which came almost 45 minutes later, "In all, I tire of the villagers glares but I can understand why they would glare at me. That does not make taking their glares any better especially now that I can not prank them. It leaves me bored when Kakashi-sensei dismisses us from practice. If that is not bad enough, I can't study anything because the Library says that I can not get a library card because of where I live. So, I am stuck on a team with Sasuke, a person who ignores the many attempts I have made to have a working friendship with, Sakura, a girl whom I thought I loved and now see she was just annoyed by me, and Kakashi-sensei, who seems to ignore me just as the rest of the village does despite being my teacher." he finished with a small frown.

Naruto had refrained from telling Shikamaru about Kyuubi. He didn't want to run off his only friend his own age. So he made up a few excuses such as the one about the library card for the library. He also didn't mention Kurenai's intervention as he didn't want something to happen to her. Not that he didn't trust Shikamaru, he just was hesitant to risk the only person he felt he could trust right now. Shikamaru and Takeshi were quickly making that list but Kurenai had automatically been placed upon it by her actions at the waterfall.

Shikamaru's mind was in overdrive. "Denied access to the most basic of utilities? Lives in the Red-Light District? A team that acts nothing like it is supposed to and completely ignores his attempts to create a working team." he glances back at Naruto as Naruto sighs wistfully into the sky. "His life is fucked up and I will not stand for it. He still hasn't told me why the village hates him or what made him change so much. Though he did mention how he wouldn't take shit from his team anymore. I think he has matured a bit since the Academy." Shikamaru thought.

"Well Naruto. I have to say that is one hell of a life you live. If anything, I am only more curious about you." Shikamaru admitted. Naruto beamed, "I know you didn't tell me everything but I think you are entitled to a few secrets." Naruto's head dropped in slight shame for not telling his newest friend everything. "I hope you will eventually tell me Naruto." he said smiling at Naruto. Naruto's face shot up and he locked eyes with Shikamaru, bright happy blue eyes were reflected in happy black eyes as the two friends smiled at their newest companions. Suddenly, Naruto's stomach let out a small growl. Naruto blushed and Shikamaru blinked before smiling slightly.

"Would you like to eat at my house tonight?" Shikamaru offered. Naruto immediately looked nervous and Shikamaru wondered if he had said something wrong when Naruto relaxed slightly and nodded his head. Shikamaru put the odd reaction to his question out of his mind and stood, offering a hand to his friend, who gladly took it. In almost no time at all the two had headed towards Shikamaru's clan compound.


Naruto and Shikamaru were taking the outer rim of Konoha to the clan district. Naruto had started walking towards the outer part of Konoha to reach the clans, not wanting to be glared at with his new friend, and Shikamaru had questioned him on it. Naruto had just said he wanted to enjoy a peaceful walk. Shikamaru knew there was more to it but he agreed and the two spent the time simply walking in each other's presence in silence.

Neither felt the need to speak and neither spoke because of it. Normally, Naruto would be abuzz with energy but his recent revelations and subsequent acquisition of a new friend had left him quite speechless and drained. Not to mention the fact he hadn't eaten in almost three and a half days. So, he walked with a small smile on his face and his hands thrown behind the back of his head while he walked on as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Naruto had come to the conclusion that he would no longer make huge attempts to encourage his teammates. He would act as if he were not hyperactive, something he knew would be hard seeing as he always had energy, but he would endure so that his team either took the steps on their own or he was reassigned. Apart from that, he had decided to remain almost completely the same. He would tolerate the village's glares and become strong enough to protect himself and Kurenai. With a sidelong glance at Shikamaru, "Shikamaru and Takeshi too." he thought to himself as he nodded his head.

Shikamaru was mulling over all the information Naruto had told him. He knew there was a big piece of the puzzle missing. "But What? The main problem is the root of the issue which causes everything that has happened to him. But he doesn't seem to want to tell me." Shikamaru thought as he caught Naruto's sidelong glance. "I will figure this out Naruto, but in the mean time... I have a gift for you that I think you will hate." Shikamaru looked up and nodded. "Here we are." Shikamaru said as he looked at the gates to his home.

Naruto looked up at the gates and saw there was a wall surrounding the entire compound. The gates had the emblem of the clan emblazoned on them. Naruto couldn't see anything else about the compound. He shrunk into his clothes a bit at how intimidating the gates looked. He looked over at Shikamaru nervously because he wasn't sure how his parents would handle Naruto being his friend. On top of that, he was being invited into another's house for the first time in his life. He was taught some etiquette by his Jiji but he rarely ever used it.

He took a deep breath before smiling at Shikamaru, drawing Shikamaru's gaze. Shikamaru smirked at him and opened the door. The two stepped forward and were greeted to the sight of buildings in a U-shape facing away from them. In other words, the houses started on the left and right side of the gate and continued away from them until being connected by another set of houses that curved in a crescent giving the appearance of a upside down U. There was plenty of grass laying on the ground leading to all of the houses. Naruto's eyes were wide at how simple it was yet it seemed so inviting. Shikamaru actually chuckled as he stood next to his friend seeing his gobsmacked expression.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru and snapped his jaw shut as he shouted at him while pointing at the houses, "You live here!" Naruto's response was a slight chuckle before Shikamaru started to walk forward. Naruto stood there for a few more seconds before, "Hey! Wait up!" he shouted as he ran after his friend. When he drew closer to Shikamaru, he noticed they were heading straight towards the biggest house in the crescent part of the houses.

"Behind these houses," Shikamaru waved at the houses, "Lay the yards for our deer to graze." he commented as he walked forward. He smirked as Naruto's eyes grew wide upon hearing this place was even bigger. Shikamaru stepped up onto the porch of his house and took his shoes off, Naruto quickly followed his example. Shikamaru walked into his house and waited for Naruto to follow.

Naruto walked into the house and the door slammed shut behind them. He saw that there was a hallway leading further into the house with a flight of stairs on one side of the hallway. It was surprisingly bare. "Mom! I'm home." Shikamaru called out to his left.

"Oh! Shika-kun, dinner is almost ready, please go wash up..." a woman's voice floated down fromm upstairs at first until the person who was talking began descending the stairs and caught sight of the two people in her doorway.

Naruto looked up to be greeted to a woman who was obviously Shikamaru's mother. She had black eyes and hair just like her son but her hair was pulled over her back, two bangs, one on each side of her face and a single bang coming down from the top of her head. She was wearing a red dress with a white undershirt peeking out from her collar. Her feet were covered in the normal blue shinobi shoes.

Shikamaru immediately started to speak when she appeared on the stairs, "Kaa-san, this is Uzumaki Na-ru-to..." he trailed off as he saw his mother glare at Naruto. He began to sweat as he realized what that look was for.

Naruto froze like a deer in the headlights when Shikamaru's mother turned a death gaze on him. He immediately seemed to shrink slightly as the thought of losing his friend because Shikamaru's parents held a grudge against him. His normally boisterous and rough attitude would have shined through and he would have left with a smile but right now he just felt like crawling into another corner and weeping. He cringed as her mouth opened to speak.

"We do not allow dirtiness in my house Naruto-san. Strip and take a shower so you may join us for dinner." Shikamaru's mother spoke in a tone Naruto had recognized from Sakura. His surprise over the words coming from her resulted in an awkward situation as he immediately pulled his shirt off and was proceeding to take his pants off before he actually registered what he had done.

Two soft gasps came from the room as they beheld Naruto's sunken stomach and the horrible state his body was in from malnutrition. He immediately recognized his mistake and was about to replace his shirt when Shikamaru's mother spoke again, "SHIKAKU!" she yelled. Naruto froze as his eyes darted to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was stunned at Naruto's body. His body was in a horrible condition and he had never seen such a bad case of malnutrition on a child before. As he heard his mother's call, he blinked at how fast his father appeared in the hallway. "Troublesome Woman." he couldn't stop thinking at how she had his father 'whipped'.

Yoshino herself was furious and it shone in her eyes as they held a rage none but a mother could possess. She turned her head and yelled for her husband, she knew the perfect way to fix this. When he appeared underneath her, she simply pointed at Naruto and said, "Contact Chouza, tell them we are having dinner at their house." Shikaku's confused look was the last thing she saw before he turned to look at Naruto. When he turned back, she shivered at the gaze he held, it almost matched her own.

"Get them ready, Chouza will have it ready in a half hour." he said in a cold voice before turning and disappearing back into the house. She turned to look at Naruto and instantly recognized the fear hidden beneath his eyes. Her anger abated somewhat as she looked into his soft blue eyes.

She smiled at him and was about to speak when he said, "I-I-I'm sorry. I-I won't come back. Just please don't punish Shikamaru." he stuttered out. She blinked a few times before smiling softly at him. She noticed Shikamaru's gaze that he suspected something other than what was on the surface, damn genius minds, and simply waved Naruto's apology off.

"Naruto-san, we are going to eat tonight and you will be joining us. Shikamaru, please lead us to our hot spring and bathe so you and your new friend may be ready for dinner tonight. I will wash your clothes while you do that. Let's go." she said in a kind voice while holding out her hand to her as she descended the stairs to stand in front of him.

Shikamaru muttered, "Troublesome." before starting to walk away.

Naruto looked up at the woman and could sense no intent like the villagers, only a smile. So, he reached out and grasped her hand, "Arigatou." he said as she began walking behind Shikamaru towards the hot spring with Naruto's hand in her own. He wondered, for but a moment, if this was what a child might feel like with their own mother.


A/N: Well, what is going to happen when he meets Chouza and what is Shikamaru's parents planning?

Okay for reviews, one person apparently doesn't like when I use Japanese... as far as I'm concerned I use the Japanese when I feel the story wouldn't be complete using English. In Japanese there are a myriad of different ways of saying something, many times the difference is in the politeness/familiarity you speak with to determine how to talk to someone. Hence the reason I use Jiji for Naruto with the Sandaime, it shows the closeness that the English language just overlooks. Those are my feelings on the matter and if you don't like it... drop my fic, I don't need you nitpicking on me using the Japanese a few times in my story, especially something so common as Gomen. I will start to write converstions at the end of the chapter though for any Japanese I use.

One user mentioned that they feel a mother-son relationship would work best, theres a reason this fic isn't like that and you will have to read to figure out why. If you don't like the pairing though... I don't understand why you clicked on the fic.

Another person said it seemed unrealistic... good point and I pushed it to the limits but I think it accomplished its intended purpose without saying Naruto was beaten everyday for his entire life but he somehow doesn't have a single scar or hes completely fine emotionally. It was a bit excessive in description but I was just trying to paint a picture that gave you the gravity of the situation, like when you see something awful for the first time and your mind sometimes blows it up so it seems even more horrible than it actually is?

Lastly, this fic is slow moving! If you want something that will pick up, don't look at this one. However, I am planning on updating every three-four days, so... hope you enjoy!